Ben Butler

In this issue paper, Ben Butler, COCHS' CIO, examines three case studies where predictive analytics are being used to assist health care providers along with criminal justice professionals in reducing incarceration, improving health, and maintaining public safety. Read issue paper...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 29, 2016 released a Dear State Medicaid Director letter which expanded the list of providers that could participate in the 90 percent federal matching funds (90/10) on state activities to promote health information exchange (HIE). The new expanded list includes correctional health providers. This addition is a recognition that coordinating care of individuals cycling through the criminal justice is an important contribution in assisting eligible Medicaid providers in the community to meet EHR Incentive objectives of Meaningful Use

Topic
Correctional Health Care Report republished in a two part series, Jails and Health Information Technology: A Framework For Creating Connectivity. This study was written by COCHS' CIO, Ben Butler, and is available on this website .

Author
Ben Butler, COCHS

Meaningful Use In Corrections: Unknown Opportunities
Interest in meaningful use among correctional health services (including both in-house health care providers and contract providers) is manifesting itself at different levels. A few correctional health services have recently begun to participate in meaningful use. Others are thinking about it, while still others are pursuing plans to acquire and implement EHR systems associated with meaningful use, even though they do not intend to participate in the program.

However, jails face a serious obstacle to participating in meaningful use, which was not designed with jails in mind. But as the meaningful use program undergoes a period of adjustment and public comment,there is an opportunity both for jails to provide their input and make their challenges known and for policymakers to gain a better understanding of how they can make meaningful use more accessible to jails, thus promoting health care connectivity. Read more...

At the end of 2014, Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS) received funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop nine case studies on data-sharing between the criminal justice and the health care sectors to promote continuity of care.

Passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009 spurred an unparalleled investment in the nationwide adoption of health information technology. One of the chief aims of HITECH is to improve coordination and continuity of care through data-sharing.

Criminal justice and behavioral health care providers, however, have been passed over by this technological wave. We developed nine case studies as a way to provide insights from a range of jurisdictions and organizations and inform data-sharing efforts in other communities.